Amusement games that vend or dispense prizes come in many forms and are well known. Amusement games are provided in amusement arcades, fair grounds and many other locations. They come in the form of machines or apparatus that implement game play on the basis of user input and machine programming or configuration. They allow people to participate in the game play offered, and the game machines provide or dispense prizes in response to the outcome of the game play. Amusement games come in myriad forms. For example, computer or video type games that include the ability to dispense prizes, coin operated games, and vending machines that implement games could all be considered amusement games. There are many others also. Such games can be mechanical and/or electronic in their structure.
Amusement games include a criteria by which they determine how and when to dispense prizes and what prizes to dispense. Generally prizes are dispensed based on the outcome of the game play after the participant has played one or more “rounds” of the game. The output of the game play may be based on luck, skill or a combination of both. When certain game play outcomes are achieved, a particular prize or prizes will be dispensed to the player, and when other outcomes are achieved no prizes may be dispensed. Games might have a hierarchy of prizes that are dispensed; some prizes being more desirable than others, those being more desirable being harder to win. The amusement game is configured with criteria to determine which game play outcome(s) result in which prizes (if any) being dispensed.
For example, in many amusement games a major and minor prize system is implemented with specific criteria required for winning a prize. In this system, players need to reach a certain level within the game to be able to win a minor prize. When the user plays the game and they reach that level, they are offered a choice of winning the minor prize attached to that level or continuing to try to win a major prize. If they choose to win the minor prize, the machine dispenses the prize and the game ends. If the player continues to play for the major prize and wins, then they receive the major prize from the machine. However, if they continue to try for the major prize and fail then the game ends and they do not win any prizes at all.